街 (jiē) - Meaning, Stroke Order & Audio

街

jiē[jie1]Tone 1

street

HSK 2

Guru Deep Dive

English · street

Cached lesson

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Topology:Left-right

Strokes:11

Writing Balance Rule: The left side (行) is narrower and compressed, while the right side (圭) is wider and balanced to ensure the character does not lean.

1. Meaning

street, avenue, thoroughfare

roadmarket or commercial area (historical/regional)

NounNeutral#locations#urban#transportation

Sample Usage

这条街有很多商店。
Zhè tiáo jiē yǒu hěn duō shāngdiàn.
This street has many shops.
我们在街上见面。
Wǒmen zài jiē shàng jiànmiàn.
We will meet on the street.

2. Sound

/[tɕi̯e˥]/Tone: 55

街

jiējie1

¯(55)

=jiē

Initial Consonant

Type: Unaspirated Alveolo-Palatal

Sounds like: j sound as in 'jeep' (without the heavy d-stop)

Unaspirated

Airflow Tactile Test: No air puff. Lips spread wide like smiling.

Tongue & Mouth Position: Blade of tongue approaches the hard palate, air escapes smoothly with a slight grooved friction.

Final Rhyme

Vowel Group: -e vowel group

Sounds like: -ie rhymes with 'ye' in 'yes'

Mouth Shape Guide: Pronounce as standalone vowel 'yeh'.

Common Learner Trap: Keep vowel quality steady across all 4 tone contours.

Tone

T1 (55)

5 → 5 (55)

1st Tone (High-Flat)

Tone Pitch & Cadence: Tone 1 is a high, steady pitch, identical to singing a high note continuously or saying 'Aah' steadily at the top of your speaking range.

👂

Listening trap: Do not confuse with jié (Tone 2 rising or Tone 4 falling); keep your pitch steady and high without dipping or rising.

👋

Physical Tone Gesture: Hold your hand flat and high in the air, moving it in a straight horizontal line to represent the high level pitch.

3. Writing

Topology: Left-right · Strokes: 11 strokes

Writing Balance Rule: The left side (行) is narrower and compressed, while the right side (圭) is wider and balanced to ensure the character does not lean.

4. Components

Radical 行 · Step / Walk Radical (movement, walking, path)

Semantic Clue (形旁): 行 (indicates walking, movement, and roads or paths)

Phonetic Clue (声旁): 圭 (original sound: guī / jiē sound evolution)

Picture a person walking (行) along a crossroads or an ancient jade tablet marker (圭) that divides urban blocks into streets.

行 left side indicating walking or path
圭 right side providing phonetic and structural balance

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

24· Phonetic Root: 圭 (guī)

5. History

Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)

Origin: Originally derived from the character 行 (crossroads/path), combined with 圭 to denote a thoroughfare where people walk and meet.

Semantic Evolution: From an ancient intersection or crossroads to any urban thoroughfare or street.

In ancient times, streets were divided systematically based on royal capitals and market arrangements.

6. Sinosphere

🇯🇵

Kanji (Japanese)

On: ガイ (gai) / Kun: まち (machi)

7. Memory

Vivid Mnemonic Story

You are walking down a busy STREET (街) with steps (行) past jade ornaments (圭) displayed in storefront windows.

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

街

jiēstreetBase character with walking radical and 圭 component

Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)

衡(héng)

衡 has fish/radicals on the right instead of 圭, meaning weigh or balance.

8. Mastery

Active Recall Challenge

这[___]有很多汽车和行人。

Clue: jiē

Common Learner Pitfall

Confusing the stroke order of the complex left radical (行) with simpler radicals, or misplacing the right component 圭.

Memory Prompts

Recognition: What does 街 mean and how is it pronounced?

Production: How do you write the Chinese character for 'street' (jiē)?

街jiēstreet

Speed:

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